 It's been over a week since the results of the SU elections here in DCU. The student body have expressed mixed reactions. It's definitely a popularity to take certain people, the usual offering suites and try to coerce. I actually know someone who they gave them a red ball to vote but then to ensure that they actually were voting said oh well we'll just watch your vote because she was by a computer so they stayed with her to make sure she voted for the person they wanted them to and it was almost like sort of coercion you know what I mean. I know two people came down to talk to us so I think her name was Emery and Sarah could have been. So I voted for them because they were trying to get more facilities for like the people who have to go between both campuses and stuff like that so I thought that was good. Yeah I was really pleased for some of it and then for others I wasn't so pleased. I was delighted that Siobhan and Itai got elected to engagement development because I think she'll do like a really really good job of that but the people that I voted for weren't voted into other positions. I thought that Jason would have been not that Podge wouldn't isn't going to do a good job but Jason would have been a really good welfare officer and I thought that Emery's experience would have been second to none to be the president. So frankly I didn't pay a massive amount of attention to the SU election as it was happening but obviously the case with your man Bino he got the massive social media attention for getting all the celebrities for that mass viral video he got and frankly I would feel that you know even though I know nothing about his policies the facts that he could organize something like that get such a wide array of celebrities and figures to talk with him would give me you know he can get something done he's the kind of person who could go out there and do things but frankly it also on the other side of things definitely highlights the fact that you know it's a bit of a popularity contest. We met with some of this year's runners up to hear about their campaigns and also to discuss their personal experiences in the elections. It's stressful I didn't think I'd have that much I'm very chill I don't really get stressed that easily but the amount of stress was insane and also I think we have a big campaign team I find it hard to kind of spread myself out like say like Podge did he'd love people everywhere and I didn't have like three people with me so I think that's what that was what caused most of the stress. I think just at the timing was quite awkward for a lot of people and like I know that we had to change the initial dates had been while we were a good few of us were on teaching practice and stuff so it had to be adjusted to suit us because like it wouldn't have been fair for us you know it'd not be able to run at all and but while I was out campaigning most of the Pat's campus was gone there was only one year who like one year Beds who were there so we were missing you know over a thousand people and so you know that's less people to campaign towards and I like I'm not saying I just wanted to get the Pat's vote but you know what I mean like if they are your people so to speak you know they would have probably related a lot so it had they been there it would have been quite helpful. If you look at the welfare role or race in particular I suppose I was the most experienced in SU terms but Podge had a lot of experience with societies I've only been involved in one or two small societies he's been involved in big societies as well so in terms of experience versus popularity like how do you measure who's more popular me or Podge or the other two girls like it's really hard to say so I couldn't really tell and then with the presidency race there was Niall and Emer who were both sat in the exec and the other three people haven't sat in the exec so they had experience as well and the two of them were the first and second so it is really hard to say and I don't really want to say whether it's experience or popularity because it is really hard to say like how can you measure experience and popularity which you know. In the time you are given it's really hard to actually build up the let's say campaigning network or to actually reach out to so many students in only one week I really would like to see a SU president that is professional and obviously engagement from my postgraduate point of view I would really want him to be reaching more to postgraduate in DCU and maybe manage to get them more involved that's what they are right now. Based on my experience and based on the opinion of people who I've talked to who've arrived in previous elections and stuff like that where Dave said the likes of the hustlings and the debate although they are fantastic and they do actually show off the candidates who are good who know the stuff or who don't they're not engaged with enough enough people don't watch them and there's your biggest issue. Based on my own manifesto and also based on previous experience as a student in a minority within the college and I would like to see him try and continue some of the work that the current SU has done I've been talking to students within my own year and years below me they've all said that they don't feel that the SU the upcoming SU will do as good a job or better they're fearing that now I hope and I really do hope that the upcoming SU proves me wrong and proves everyone else wrong.